Cheers and Jeers: Feb. 8, 2014

Published: Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 7, 2014 at 5:40 p.m.

Private lights, public money — What happened at Belmere Luxury Apartments in 2011 in Houma?

No one seems to know exactly what happened.

This is what we do know: The Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government spent thousands of dollars installing light posts on the private property.

After that, the facts get murky.

“Even though there was some wrongdoing, they had not enough information to have any criminal charges,” said Parish President Michel Claudet.

That is clearly not good enough. The public has a right to know where all of its money goes and why. Particularly when that money is misspent — as seems to be the case here — the public should expect an explanation of what happened and a reasonable assurance that it won’t happen again.

An ex-employee complained about the incident, and the parish ordered an investigation by Houma Police. Unfortunately, there are still more questions than answers.

How did the parish spend thousands on private property? Who is responsible? How do we know this won’t happen again? Why did the incident go unreported for more than two years only to be uncovered by a former parish worker? The public deserves a full explanation.

CHEERS

Extreme weather, though, can also occur suddenly and without much warning.

That is why the National Weather Service depends on private people to report what is happening around them.

Two dozen local residents got a crash course in identifying and reporting severe weather to the agency during a SkyWarn meeting earlier this week in Houma. The meeting was organized by the Terrebonne Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

“We see a lot of information on our radar that lets us know that something adverse is going on,” said Frank Refitte with the weather service. “But when we get reports from the ground, it gives us confidence in our radar and information that we may not have had.”

Congratulations to the local folks who are now more prepared to play a part in that important process.

CHEERS

Zoning questions — Questions of zoning can be mundane, but they can also be fiery topics of public debate.

The Thibodaux Planning and Zoning Commission held a meeting this week to hear concerns from residents about a zoning plan that would introduce some changes to the current ordinance. About 75 people showed up to have their say.

The main focus of many of them was the designation of a section of Canal Boulevard between East Third and East Sixth streets. A mixed-use zoning would allow more businesses. A residential designation would allow current businesses to stay but would prohibit further commercial development. And there are other possibilities.

The larger, more important and better point here, though, is that so many people turned out to have their say and be part of the process. The city is almost certain to displease some of those with an interest in the outcome, but just participating is an important civics lesson that shouldn’t be taken lightly by local residents or by the government that represents them.

CHEERS

Healthy help — Local schools are getting a helping hand from the Community Sports Institute through a program to encourage more education about identifying and preventing sports injuries.

“The Terrebonne General Medical Center Community Sports Initiative will play a vital role in the development of healthy athletes in our community,” said TGMC President and CEO Phyllis Peoples.

Anything our local institutions can do to help schools make our young student-athletes safer is a welcome improvement.

Congratulations to everyone who plays a part in this program and to the many local kids it is sure to help.

<p class="bold allcaps">JEERS</p>
<p>Private lights, public money — What happened at Belmere Luxury Apartments in 2011 in Houma?</p><p>No one seems to know exactly what happened.</p><p>This is what we do know: The Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government spent thousands of dollars installing light posts on the private property.</p><p>After that, the facts get murky.</p><p>“Even though there was some wrongdoing, they had not enough information to have any criminal charges,” said Parish President Michel Claudet.</p><p>That is clearly not good enough. The public has a right to know where all of its money goes and why. Particularly when that money is misspent — as seems to be the case here — the public should expect an explanation of what happened and a reasonable assurance that it won't happen again.</p><p>An ex-employee complained about the incident, and the parish ordered an investigation by Houma Police. Unfortunately, there are still more questions than answers.</p><p>How did the parish spend thousands on private property? Who is responsible? How do we know this won't happen again? Why did the incident go unreported for more than two years only to be uncovered by a former parish worker? The public deserves a full explanation.</p><h3>CHEERS</h3>
<p>Weather reporters — Bad weather, unfortunately, is something that too often lurks in our forecasts.</p><p>Extreme weather, though, can also occur suddenly and without much warning.</p><p>That is why the National Weather Service depends on private people to report what is happening around them.</p><p>Two dozen local residents got a crash course in identifying and reporting severe weather to the agency during a SkyWarn meeting earlier this week in Houma. The meeting was organized by the Terrebonne Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.</p><p>“We see a lot of information on our radar that lets us know that something adverse is going on,” said Frank Refitte with the weather service. “But when we get reports from the ground, it gives us confidence in our radar and information that we may not have had.”</p><p>Congratulations to the local folks who are now more prepared to play a part in that important process.</p><h3>CHEERS</h3>
<p>Zoning questions — Questions of zoning can be mundane, but they can also be fiery topics of public debate.</p><p>The Thibodaux Planning and Zoning Commission held a meeting this week to hear concerns from residents about a zoning plan that would introduce some changes to the current ordinance. About 75 people showed up to have their say.</p><p>The main focus of many of them was the designation of a section of Canal Boulevard between East Third and East Sixth streets. A mixed-use zoning would allow more businesses. A residential designation would allow current businesses to stay but would prohibit further commercial development. And there are other possibilities.</p><p>The larger, more important and better point here, though, is that so many people turned out to have their say and be part of the process. The city is almost certain to displease some of those with an interest in the outcome, but just participating is an important civics lesson that shouldn't be taken lightly by local residents or by the government that represents them.</p><h3>CHEERS</h3>
<p>Healthy help — Local schools are getting a helping hand from the Community Sports Institute through a program to encourage more education about identifying and preventing sports injuries.</p><p>“The Terrebonne General Medical Center Community Sports Initiative will play a vital role in the development of healthy athletes in our community,” said TGMC President and CEO Phyllis Peoples.</p><p>Anything our local institutions can do to help schools make our young student-athletes safer is a welcome improvement.</p><p>Congratulations to everyone who plays a part in this program and to the many local kids it is sure to help.</p><p>Editorials represent the opinions of</p><p>the newspaper, not of any individual.</p>